White
by R. Jeanette
Summary: "Reminds me of the time you and I and the snow machine, eh Georgie?" I chuckled, looking to my right to where George usually stood.  Then I remembered.  Fred Death One-Shot


White.

My first perception was just that- white. Not off-white or a _beige_ but the type of white you might find in newly fallen snow and paper. It coated the walls, floor, and every other surface in the room where I stood. Speaking of, where was I?

A room that looked an awful lot like a muggle train station my dad had mentioned before, though I couldn't place it to a certain station seeing as we hardly ever used muggle transport other than the flying car. Before Ron went and ruined it, of course.

"Reminds me of the time you and I and the snow machine, eh Georgie?" I chuckled, looking to my right to where George usually stood. Then I remembered.

_-.-.-.-.-_

_"Hello, Minister! Did I mention I'm resigning?" Percy smirked as he shot another body bind spell toward his opponent. His words, though, brought me up short. What happened to the snobby Percy that we had all been seeing recently? The twit was changing back, now?_

_ "Your joking, Perce!" I smiled in shock. Laughing, I turned my eyes to him. "I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-" I cut off as the wall to my right exploded. All I could feel was a slight pinching on my shoulder then… nothing._

_-.-.-.-.-_

So I was dead, then.

I didn't feel any different then I did before; except maybe I felt a bit better. Like when you've had a few too many puking pasties and all you can think about is the dreariness your feeling, then, the time runs out and you feel blissfully plain. Though I felt different in a bad way, too. Empty. Like a part of me was gone.

"Fred?" a soft voice questioned from behind me. Turning, I noticed good old Albus standing there with a frown etched upon his face.

"Aye, sir. I suppose we're both dead now?" I questioned dreamily.

Dumbledore's face blanched in pain before walking up to me and laying a cold hand on my shoulder. "My boy, it'll be alright; just you see," he said steadily as he watched me with clear, sky blue eyes.

"How can you be sure?" I said quietly. The grief was beginning to catch up with me and my shoulders hunched over. My family, my friends, and least of all the girl who I had never even had the guts to even ask out… all of them gone.

"I've been dead for quite a while now and it's a simple existence. I've been waiting for company, you see. Before I move on. I suspect Harry will be joining us sooner or later," he said thoughtfully as he sat on a white bench.

"I didn't get to say goodbye," I mourned. "I didn't even get killed by a death-eater, but a wall. A _wall!"_

"Shh," Dumbledore murmured, laying a hand on my shoulder once more. "Now is a time to realize your mistakes and move on from them. Here," he said, scooting over on the small bench. "Sit with me and muse about your past. It helps." He patted the bench once more.

Sighing, I moved over slowly to the bench and sat down heavily.

_-.-.-.-.-_

_"Fred, stop!" Ginny squealed as she doubled over, tears streaking down her cheeks. She tried to batter me away but in her fit of giggles she held no strength. It helped she was four years younger, too._

_ "What's the ickle Ginnikins gonna do about it, huh?" I chuckled as I continued to tickle her neck and stomach. "Say 'Fred is the best brother ever'," I demanded with a grin._

_ "Never!" she gasped out, despite her lack of air._

_ "Then I suppose I shouldn't stop!" I laughed as I continued to torture her._

_ "Nonono okay okay! Fred is the best brother ever!" she squealed as she tried once again to kick away my hands. Smiling, I let her go and I watched as she took a deep breath before glaring at me behind her tears of laughter._

_ "What?" I asked innocently, battering my eyes to make her giggle once more._

_ "Don't do that," she pouted, crossing her arms and sticking out her bottom lip._

_ "Don't do that," I mimicked her as I poked her lip. "Or it just might get stuck that way," I warned._

_ She laughed outright. "So then I'd be stuck looking like you!" she as she jumped up from the couch and ran up the stairs._

_ "You wish!" I yelled at her as I chased her up the stairs for revenge. _

_-.-.-.-.-_

I looked up with bleary eyes at Dumbledore who was focused on something in the distance. "What- was- that?" I choked out.

"What was what?" he asked in concern, maintaining his position.

"You didn't see all that? It was when I was younger and I was with Ginny… " I trailed off, thinking of my little sister. I could no longer be there to help protect her. Could no longer listen to her stories, or make her laugh with our crazy antics. Thinking back, I could remember how Ginny had specifically pulled both George and I aside to tell us that we had better not do anything stupid during the battle. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. I was dead, yet I was worrying about the scolding my sister was sure to give me when she saw me once more.

And yet I was supposed to be the fearless one.

"Ah, yes," he said enthusiastically. "I have experienced quite a few of those during my time here. Though it may seem long to you, only a second had passed when you cried out," he observed, nodding slightly as he tuned to look at me.

"Do they just come and go?" I asked.

"Well, yes. They can be quite enjoyable. Just as long as you don't get caught up in them, that is. They are horribly tempting."

"What do you mean, tempt-"

_-.-.-.-.-_

_I felt nervous, beyond measure. My first day at Hogwarts- the idea was daunting. Having George by my side, as always, helped. But yet what if we were separated? What would I do without him? I tried to shield my thoughts from the rest of the family by putting on a blank expression and looking out the window of the muggle car, though. It was no use to show them my inner panic._

_ "Ey, Freddie," George whispered in my ear. His face was a similar mask to my own straight face._

_ "Yeah, Georgie?" I responded._

_ "D' ya reckon we'll be Gryffindor? What if we're sorted into Slytherin? Or Hufflepuff?" he asked, his nose wrinkling in disgust._

_ "We can't be, Georgie. 'Cause think about it this way: We're loyal-"_

_ "-funny-" he interrupted._

_ "-brave-"_

_ "-good-looking-"_

"_-and other-wise amazing characters. We'll be fine," I grinned as I elbowed him. He nodded and laughed his thanks._

"_Boys, everyone out," mom yipped cheerfully as she opened the back door and began to pull our trunks from the enchanted car. _

_ "Everyone ready? Got all our stuff?" dad's voice boomed over the side conversations taking place between me, George, and Percy._

_ "Yep!" George and I smiled, sharing a look. Who said that our stuff couldn't include enough explosive powder to light fire to the moon?_

_ "Let's go then," Percy said as we began walking in front of us._

_ "It's huge!" George and I chorused, looking around the muggle station once we entered through the spinning doors (which dad has wanted to stop and investigate, but mum stopped him). "Say, how are we to get to school from this place?" George questioned as he examined the place with wide eyes._

_ "Follow me," dad smiled as he led up to platform 9. We assumed we were headed to 10 so we continued walking until we ran right into his arm. "No, boys. Here's our exit," he said as he flourished his arm behind him at the wall._

_ "Right," mom grinned as she nodded to the wall. "Perce, you go first and show your brothers," she encouraged as she took a step back._

_ "Watch and learn!" Percy laughed as he took his cart and, running forward, smashed into the wall._

_ Except he didn't._

_ The wall bent, like water ripples with a thrown stone, and Percy disappeared behind it._

_ "Wicked," George and I gasped._

_-.-.-.-.-_

_"Weasley, Fred," the instructor boomed from the front of the room. Taking a deep breath, I strut up to the stage and sat proudly as the droopy hat was placed on my head. It sunk down past my eyes and I could smell a slightly musty air within it._

_ "Well, well, well. Another Weasley. Brave, kind, loyal… Now, Hufflepuff might be where you belong. But tradition should be brought into account… yes, of course, then… GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled as the Gryffindor students stood and clapped._

_ "No, worries, Georgie," I whispered to him as I passed on my way to the table. Sitting down, I struck up a conversation with some kid named Lee Jordan while I waited for George._

_ "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat repeated as George, red faced but beaming, walked over to the table and plopped next to me._

_ "Right. Easy," shrugged as he eyed the kid I was talking to. Lee's black hair stuck out this way and that and his eyes with wandering around the room awkwardly._

_ "I'm Lee, Lee Jordan," he said quickly, putting out his hand._

_ "Right, then. I'm George- his twin," his said, motioning to me._

_ "Except I'm the better looking one," I added._

_ "On some days-," he clarified._

_ "Especially the days that end in y," I finished with a smirk as I slung an arm over George's shoulders. _

_ "Twins? That's great. Me, I have no other siblings. Though I'm fond of it. No competition," he grinned as he wagged his eyebrows._

_ "Eie, but they make great targets," George pointed out as he leaned forward. "'Cause no matter what you do to them, they can't kill or curse you," he chuckled._

_ "Good tactic," Lee said thoughtfully. "Targets for what, exactly?" he wondered aloud._

_ "Pranks," George and I chorused. "We are the masters," I added._

_ "Is that so?" Lee asked, raising his brow. "I'm afraid I'll have to challenge you on that. See, I have this idea. We take a dozen or so blackout bougies and put them in the attic, over where the Slytherins sleep. Then…"_

_ George and I looked at each other with grins on both of our faces. This kid and us were going to be great friends, it was clear._

_-.-.-.-.-_

_ "Got 'em?" George whispered in my ear as we tiptoed down the black hallway, keeping out eyes on the map in my hands the whole time._

_ "'Course. Freshly caught this morning," I responded, shaking the bag with the Cornish pixies inside. It had taken at least half an hour, and a liter or two of blood (my own blood- those pixie had seriously sharp teeth and nails), but I had managed to wrangle four pixies into a bag before zipping it shut._

_ "Filch will have fun with this," he snickered as he took the other bag off my shoulder and opened it to reveal several paint cans. Not only were they paint of the hard-to-remove sort, but they were also enchanted to change to different god-awful colors each minute. That minute it happened to be mucus green._

_ "On three," I told him as I dipped my large brush into the paint and held it over the bag, ready._

_ "Three-"_

_ "Two-"_

_ "One," we ended together as we opened the bag and out the half-crazed pixies flew. Quickly, we doused them thoroughly in the paint before taking a step back and watching the mucus pixies fly away._

_ "I suggest we run now, Freddie," George said cheerfully._

_ "I suggest we do," I nodded as we slung the bags over our shoulders and ran, full speed, back to the Gryffindor common room._

_-.-.-.-.-_

"-ing?" I finished my question, though I was thoroughly baffled. It felt like ten minutes of memories had happened, yet; Dumbledore was in the same spot as he was before, looking at me as he was before.

"It's easy to wish for the past," he said thoughtfully, though in his eyes showed a flash of pain for a brief moment. "Enjoy them, but do not long for them. We cannot go back," he told me.

"Can I… Pick a memory?" I wondered out loud.

"Surely! Just focus on what you want to see and you will," he advised.

So I could see anything, then. What did I want to see? My mind quickly ran over my life before Hogwarts… nothing great there. Me and George had many laughs but just thinking about him made my heart ache. I skipped over my first year and dove into my second, seeing the pranks we pulled on teachers. And the Quiddich; I had many memories of that.

Well, still not worth settling on. Diving deeper, I brought myself to my third year where I noticed Ron and Harry for the first time at Hogwarts. That year was big for them, maybe, but not for me. Nothing-exciting happened year long except for Angela's obsession over me. Not worth remembering.

Suddenly, in my fourth year, I knew what memory I wanted to see- the first time I met _her._

_-.-.-.-.-_

_ "Ruddy Snape. Who gives two essays due the next week? Two?" George cursed under his breath as he shoved the scrolls into his bag._

_ "Well mate, we have to study hard if we want to be perfect- I mean, a prefect, like our amazing brother Percy," I told him pompously._

_ "Right," he snorted as we walked out of the dark dungeon into the well-lit hallway. "Coming to lunch?" he asked me, noticing my hesitation._

_ "In a minute, I have to go talk to McGonogall. I'll meet you up," I promised him before turning and wandering down the hall. Turning the corner, I was so oblivious that I didn't even notice I had run into a first year and knocked her as well as her stuff over until she tapped on my foot._

_ "Excuse me," she said softly, her big blue eyes fastened on mine. "I'm afraid I can't collect my books with you standing on them," she told me, tugging on her book, which was under my right foot._

_ "Oh- right- of course," I mumbled as I grabbed the books and held them in one arm while pulling her up with the other. "Sorry 'bout that," I told her, flashing a smile._

_ "It's quite fine," she shrugged as she tucked her wand behind her left ear. Though it balanced precariously, she looked at ease. "Your head is infested with wackspurts so it's really no wonder that you can't walk straight," she informed me with a nod._

_ "Wackspurts?" I repeated, unsure if I heard her correctly._

_ "Oh, yes. They're quite annoying," she said thoughtfully as she collected her books from me. "Well, thank you," she told me, giving me a small smile and pushing the hair which was splayed around her neck behind her back._

_ "It's not a problem. I'm Fred. Fourth year- Gryffindor," I told her._

_ "That's nice," she said. Though her voice was deadpanned, I didn't get the impression that she was trying to be rude. She just didn't have an emotion to fit what she wanted to say._

_ "Your house?" I asked encourangily._

_ "Ravenclaw," she told me. "Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, If you're a ready mind. Where those or wit and learning, Can always find their kind," she sang._

_ "Nice," I chuckled. She looked affronted for a moment at my laughing and I clarified. "I don't even know Gryffindor's slogan."_

_ "You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry, Set Gryffindors apart," she recited._

_ "Okay, well I really should be going… McGonogall needs me," I told her._

"_Well good bye, then," she said before turning and walking away from me._

_ "Wait! What do I call you?" I called after her. Though her reputation proceded her, really everyone knew who she was, I figured it would be best for her to say it instead of the gossips._

_ "Luna," she called back over her shoulder. "Luna Lovegood."_

_-.-.-.-.-_

I smiled as I relaxed into the bench.

"How long have you been here?" I asked Dumbledore as I looked at him questioningly.

"There is no time here, really. Not with the ability to see the past as we can. But I suppose I've been here for a year or so," he told me with a shrug. "Feels like minutes."

"So then… can I join you?" I asked him with a hopeful expression.

"Of course, my dear Fred. Nothing would please me more. But, tell me, is there a reason you have for staying?" he asked me curiously.

"Yes," I admitted. "I want to wait for a friend or two."

"Well they should be honored," he told me.

"Not really," I confessed. "They're both worth waiting for."

A/N:

Oh, Fred. Well I hope you enjoyed it- it was quite fun to write. Though thoroughly heartbreaking.

Thinking about adding some one shots of his memories and such-

Requests? Ideas? Comments?


End file.
